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Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce. He has trained extensively with Turbo Fairtex, Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, and Dave Terrell. Melendez is the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and has avenged both his career losses. Melendez is ranked by both Sherdog and MMAWeekly.com as the #2 best lightweight in the world.http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/6/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-24573 Mixed martial arts career Melendez began fighting in the old World Extreme Cagefighting and Rumble on the Rock shows and also spent some time overseas where he fought for Shooto and PRIDE Fighting Championships Melendez won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship from Clay Guida by split decision on June 9, 2006. Melendez held the belt for two years before losing it on June 27, 2008 to Josh Thomson by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson. On April 11, 2009, Melendez was scheduled to rematch Josh Thomson for the title at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz but the bout was cancelled on April 1 as Thomson broke his ankle in training for the fight.Exclusive: Josh Thomson breaks leg; Gilbert Melendez rematch on April 11 off (Updated) Rodrigo Damm replaced Thomson on the card and the two squared off for the interim title which Melendez would go on to win, stopping Damm with strikes in the 2nd round. On August 15, 2009, Melendez was again set to rematch Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg but Thomson was not cleared to fight, due to lingering problems with his leg. Mitsuhiro Ishida was selected to replace Thomson in what became Melendez' first Interim title defense. On December 19, 2009, Melendez fought Josh Thomson to unify the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship belts. Melendez won the fight via unanimous decision to become the Undisputed Lightweight Champion. With the win he also avenged the second of his only two losses to date. Melendez successfully defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship against current DREAM Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Middleweight Champion Shinya Aoki on April 17, 2010. Melendez and Aoki were widely believed to be rematching at Dream's December 31, 2010 event, but both Melendez and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker are questioning if that bout will happen. If not, Melendez will return for Strikeforce in early 2011. Strikeforce: Nashville Post-Fight Brawl Melendez was one of the members of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu team who participated in a post fight brawl live on CBS after Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson. Jason Miller somehow gained access to the cage, and interrupted Shields, asking "Where's my rematch buddy?", into the microphone referring to a previous fight between the two at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers in 2009. Melendez and Jake Shields then shoved Miller and Nick Diaz threw a punch at Miller, which led to the brawl. Miller was wrestled to the floor by members of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. While Miller was restrained on the ground, members of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu began to attack him. The fight was eventually broken up by members of security and Dan Henderson's corner. Melendez and five others were given three-month suspensions and fines of $5,000–7,500. Personal life Melendez and his girlfriend Keri Anne have a daughter, Leylakay Valentina Melendez, born August 8, 2010. Championships and accomplishments *Strikeforce **Strikeforce Lightweight Championship (2 Times, current) **Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship (1 Time) *World Extreme Cagefighting **WEC Lightweight Championship (1 Time, first) MMA record {| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="font-size:85%; text-align:left;" | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Record' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Result' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Opponent' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Method' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Event' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Date' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Round' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Time' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Location' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #f0f0f0"|'Notes' |- |18–2 | Win | Shinya Aoki | Decision (Unanimous) |Strikeforce: Nashville |2010-04-17 |Round 5 |5:00 |Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | Defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship |- |17–2 | Win | Josh Thomson |Decision (Unanimous) |Strikeforce: Evolution |2009-12-19 |Round 5 |5:00 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Won and Unified Strikeforce Lightweight Championship |- |16–2 | Win | Mitsuhiro Ishida |TKO (Punches) |Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg |2009-08-15 |Round 3 |3:56 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Defended the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship |- |15–2 | Win | Rodrigo Damm | KO (Punches) |Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz |2009-04-11 | Round 2 |2:02 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Won the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship |- |14–2 | Loss | Josh Thomson |Decision (Unanimous) |Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson |2008-06-27 |Round 5 |5:00 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Lost the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship |- |14–1 | Win | Gabe Lemley |TKO (Punches) |Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le |2008-03-29 |Round 2 |2:18 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Defended the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship |- |13–1 | Loss | Mitsuhiro Ishida |Decision (Unanimous) |Yarennoka - New Year's Eve 2007 |2007-12-31 |Round 2 |5:00 |Saitama, Japan |- |13–0 | Win | Tetsuji Kato |Decision (Unanimous) |Strikeforce: Playboy Mansion |2007-09-29 |Round 3 |5:00 |Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |- |12–0 | Win | Tatsuya Kawajiri |Decision (Unanimous) |PRIDE Shockwave 2006 |2006-12-31 |Round 2 |5:00 |Saitama, Japan |- |11–0 | Win | Nobuhiro Obiya |Decision (Unanimous) |PRIDE Bushido 12 |2006-08-26 |Round 2 |5:00 |Nagoya, Japan |- |10–0 | Win | Clay Guida |Decision (Split) |Strikeforce: Revenge |2006-06-09 |Round 5 |5:00 |San Jose, California, U.S. | Won Strikeforce Lightweight Championship |- |9–0 | Win | Harris Sarmiento |Submission (Strikes) |Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie |2006-03-10 |Round 2 |0:44 |San Jose, California, U.S. |- |8–0 | Win | Rumina Sato |TKO (Cut) |Shooto: Alive Road |2005-08-20 |Round 1 |1:32 |Yokohama, Japan |- |7–0 | Win | Naoya Uematsu |TKO (Cut) |Shooto 2005: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall |2005-08-20 |Round 2 |4:30 |Lemoore, California, U.S. |- |6–0 | Win | Hiroyuki Takaya |Decision (Unanimous) |Shooto 2004: Year-End Show |2004-12-14 |Round 3 |5:00 |Tokyo, Japan |- |5–0 | Win | Kaynan Kaku |TKO (Punches) |K-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004 |2004-11-20 |Round 2 |3:58 |Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |- |4–0 | Win | Olaf Alfonso |TKO (Punches) |WEC 10: Bragging Rights |2004-05-21 |Round 3 |4:54 |Lemoore, California, U.S. | Became first WEC Lightweight Champion |- |3–0 | Win | Stephen Palling |TKO (Punches) |Rumble on the Rock 4 |2003-10-10 |Round 2 |4:59 |Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |- |2–0 | Win | Jeff Hougland |TKO (Punches) |WEC 6: Return of a Legend |2003-03-27 |Round 2 |2:05 |Lemoore, California, U.S. |- |1–0 | Win | Greg Quan |TKO (Punches) |WEC 5: Halloween Fury |2002-10-18 |Round 1 |4:37 |Lemoore, California, U.S. See also *List of current mixed martial arts champions *List of male mixed martial artists References External links * *Official Pride Website *Gilbert Melendez' Myspace *December, 2006 Interview Category:Mixed martial artists from California Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Strikeforce title holders Category:Lightweight mixed martial artists Category:Rumble on the Rock fighters